Plucking Daisies
by Oxza
Summary: A girl walked into a bar and the rest is history.
1. Pick your Poison

Plucking Daisies Chapter 1

.

.

.

She teetered on her too-high high heels in the dank air of the dark city. Her eyes like lazy cat-eyes lusciously lined in black, and her lips, painted a venomous red. Her hair messily curled – big was the ideal factor. Her dress was _his_ favorite colour and shorter than she was comfortable with. It was all to get his attention. The latter failed miserably.

Her chin wobbled and she laughed to herself, "Cruel man he is, he had his eyes on every woman there except me."

Sakura was still young – she was still too naïve and too innocent at that. She hadn't fully comprehended the true meaning of a 'one night stand', but at that point her mind finally sobered up to the truth.

She looked at her own reflection in a store window and she tisked at herself, she was everything but herself. Her eyes then flittered through the empty street, wondering if any store would be open at this hour. As she walked, she gave up on her heels and removed them. The bottom of her stockings bruising on the jagged pavement.

"I can't keep walking around like this." She muttered as she found herself passing by eerie alleyways.

No one in their right mind would prowl a city at this hour.

She finally found a thrift store open on the corner of the street. She quickly greeted the old woman at the counter who was slightly taken aback from the girl's attire but returned her greeting.

Upon entering the thrift store, an array of luggage bags littered her vision.

"I should just leave" She just said breathlessly, the more she let those words echo in her ears the more she liked the idea. She smiled to herself.

All her things were still at his place. Though she deemed them unnecessary as the majority of her belongings were solely to gain approval from him. She didn't need _his_ approval anymore. In fact she didn't need anyone's approval, only her own.

She smiled to herself; she was taking the reins in her life. Love could go take a back seat for all she cared.

She picked up a moderate suitcase, neither too big nor too small, and something easy to travel with. She then peered at her wristwatch, if she could get to the bus station in forty-five minutes she could get out of town that night.

She quickly got to work, rattling through the hangers. "I need pants" She looked at her dress distastefully.

She gave herself ten minutes to select some clothing, a sufficient to get her by for the time being. She also selected an outfit she could change into that moment. She found a pair of torn up grey Chucks' a size too big in the back and paired it up with a pair of baggy jeans, a white men's t-shirt and a dark purple leather jacket. She quickly made her way to the cashier to pay for her transaction.

"Can I trade in this dress to purchase these items?" Sakura asked cautiously as she counted the remaining bills in her purse – they would only be sufficient enough for a bus ticket and nothing else. She'd need to find work as soon as she moved.

The old lady eyed her dress kindly, "Your dress can cover the whole transaction. If you throw in those earrings I can give you some extra cash. Besides I wouldn't be walking around with those earrings especially in this town. I'll be doing you a favor."

Sakura smiled, "Thank you." She quickly removed the said earrings; they were an antique gold, embezzled with her birthstone in the center. A gift from him, or more a less a stamp of his claim over her.

She quickly moved to the back with her new belongings and found the changing room. She peeled off the damned dress and wore her 'new' attire. Sakura then walked up to the front and gave the women the dress and her earrings.

The old lady licked the bills as she counted through them, "There you are. Thank you for your business."

Sakura nodded and made her way out of the store. Feeling all her senses of security she had in the store diminish. She looked at her wristwatch she only had twenty minutes.

She made sure her luggage bag was secured and folded her bus money into her back pocket and the rest in her bra. Once she was done with a once over check, she bolted down the street. The luggage bag slightly weighing her down, but her legs adjusted to the new weight.

She was a seasoned track runner back in her varsity years. Despite having to quit due to harassment from her peers, she kept running. It was the only constant in her life.

She always would have a starting line and a finish line, wherever it may be. She quickly turned down a few streets, her legs screaming with joy from the rush of energy.

With two minutes to spare she arrived at the bus station, which held only one lone bus. She made her way to the bus and pulled out the bills in her back pocket, "a four zone ticket please." She spoke as she looked at the bus driver.

The bus driver took the bills and whistled, "Well aren't you going far little lady."

Sakura simply ignored his comment and took the ticket that deposited from the machine and made her way to the back of the empty bus.

She allowed herself to fall asleep as the bus rolled out of the station.

In a town that was equal to the distance of a four zone bus ticket, a white haired man opened up his bar for business.

"Sometimes Kakashi I wonder if you'll open at all on nights like these." A man grumbled as he was ushered in.

Kakashi feigned innocence and scratched the back of his head, "Well at least I opened"

A few other men with familiar faces walked in giving him a smile and rough slap on the back.

Kakashi walked back into the bar which was dimly lit and smelled like mahogany. The low amber lights gave an allusion to hell. Kakashi was simply preparing himself.

He walked behind the bar and got to work making the intoxicating drinks that allowed each and every one of these men a moment of relief from their own melancholy. Even so he believed that alcohol could bring release, Kakashi himself did not drink. He never let a tinge of alcohol stain his lips – he felt that he didn't deserve that luxury.

It was the usual crowd, Kakashi noticed as he slid a tonic and gin to one of his oldest customers. Each man had a story of his own.

There were those three graduate students, Naruto, Sasuke and Sai, that always seemed to appear after their finals or on Thursdays...or everyday of the week. Naruto was the ever the eccentric one of the group always laughing, Sasuke always doting like an old mother and Sai….well Sai seemed to bring an essence of oddness to the trio.

For their first few visits, Kakashi would give them virgin drinks just for the fun of it, then one night Naruto came up to him, "Tonight if it's alright could you spoil us with some good liquor – no water"

Kakashi gave them a sloppy smile, "Took you long enough to notice."

Oh to be young.

Then there was the only woman that continuously visited his bar. She'd usually saunter in after a long shift at the hospital. She was a loud and rowdy drunk, especially when she came along with her friend who was a local writer. In exchange for a sneak peek of his new works, Kakashi would give him free drinks.

Tsunade and Jiraiya.

But tonight it was just Tsunade.

Then there were his friends from the local police department. Obito, Genma and Tenzo. The days he would sit with them for a drink were long gone.

The days he was a police man were just as long gone.

Whenever the crowd was dwindling, Kakashi would sit with them and reminisce the good old days. They'd carefully dodge the instance that had caused Kakashi to take leave from the police force.

Sometimes he'd help them with an investigation.

Sometimes he'd just stare at the old dusty piano in the center of the bar.

And he would just remember.

No one bothered to tell him to get rid of the old thing; it was a sensitive topic for Kakashi. Even so he never let anyone play it; it was an unspoken rule in the bar. The piano was the elephant in the room, a room whose door was too small for it to leave. It was stuck.

It needed someone to make a bigger door for it.

But who?

A little later into the night, the bell rang above the entrance of the bar. Everyone peered from the corner of their eyes to see who the person was. They were new.

Kakashi put down a tumbler he was drying and peered at the visitor. She was a young woman who was probably the same age as the three graduate students. He smiled gently at her as she shyly peered around the bar. She carried a luggage bag with her he noticed. As she sat down on a stool, he was able to have a closer look at her features.

She had emerald eyes that were encased in almond shaped sockets that were surrounded with petal pink lashes. They were lined with black, which made her eyes allude to a lazy cat. Her face was flushed, probably from the chill from outside. Her full lips were stained with a fading red. Her cheeks were plump and had a dimple each punctured within them. Her hair was like a whirlwind, her thick curls framing her heart-shaped face like a portrait. But what caught him off was upon closer inspection in the dim light her hair was a soft pink.

She looked haggard and jittery. Her pupils were dilated to a point where the emerald in her iris was only as thick as a thread.

"What would you like to drink" Kakashi spoke gently as not to startle the woman.

At that moment their eyes met and her tired stern face broke into a soft and kind smile, "I'm not much of a drinker, but I'll just have whatever is this place's special."

Kakashi nodded and busied himself with the concoction.

"Do you have a pen?" Sakura asked him.

"Ah, that I do." Kakashi chuckled and pulled out a pen from his back pocket.

"Thank you." She replied as she took the pen from his hand.

Sakura pulled on a napkin and began writing a short letter but was stopped, "I ah have paper too if you want."

Sakura blushed with embarrassment, "If it's not too much trouble."

He walked towards the till and pulled out two sheets of paper an envelope. Sakura accepted them sheepishly.

She began to write the letter, but then scribbled out the words and sighed repeating the process.

When Kakashi finished the drink he slid the tumbler her, "Having a little trouble there?" remarking at her evident distress.

Sakura didn't know what she saw in that man. But his eyes held something sincere in the abyss of black. It was comforting.

"I made a decision this evening. I think it was the right decision, but I guess I'm second guessing myself now. I'm just trying to create a sense of closure with this letter."

"If you can't write it, you can just call the person. There's a pay phone over there." Kakashi jutted his chin towards the phone that sat behind where Tsunade was drinking.

"I don't want the person to know where I am, they could trace the call here." Sakura blurted out suddenly.

Kakashi only quirked his eyebrow for a moment but then immediately had a stoic face, "Ah that is true. Writing it would seem to be the more logistical option. Anyway take your time, you have until tomorrow morning."

Sakura nodded and then went back to writing the letter. Kakashi kept his eye on the girl who looked flustered beyond her years.

"The drink should help some." Kakashi spoke off handedly.

Sakura eyed the drink cautiously, "Will I do anything I'll regret if I drink this."

Kakashi snorted, "Isn't that the point?"

She laughed quietly, "You got me there."

She began to drink the concoction; it burned her throat but eased her tension. She slugged her head bag and finished it in one chug.

Kakashi whistled, "Easy on the liquor young lady. You'll drink my store dry if you keep drinking like that."

Sakura raised her index finger, "I'll only drink one."

"Whatever you say" Kakashi said quietly as he began wiping down the bar.

She was getting jittery at that moment, which could only mean one thing. She needed a smoke. She didn't see 'no smoking' sign in the store "Is it alright if I smoke here?" Sakura asked

"You sure do ask a lot of questions." Kakashi smirked

"I'll take that as a yes" Sakura quirked her eyebrow as she pulled out a lighter and a new pack of _Sevens_.

Kakashi pulled out a crystal ashtray, "Don't burn my counter."

"Noted" Sakura mumbled through the cigarette in her mouth and she let out a long drag.

"If you need anything just give me a holler." Kakashi spoke as he turned to exit the bar and sit with his ex-partners.

Sakura simply lazily closed her eyes and let her head lull as she smoked through the night. Her mind calculating what she was going to do next. Where would she stay? How would she get by?

One thing she knew for sure if she wanted to leave town she wouldn't have enough money to do so. She needed a job and a place to stay for the time being and then she'd see where the wind would take her.

As she smoked through her pack of _sevens _the bar started to empty out, and Sakura's mind was doing somersaults around her sanity.

It wasn't until the last cigarette was smoked and drop out of her lips did Kakashi stand up and usher the last customer out.

He walked up and sat on the stool next to her.

He just looked at her.

Sakura looked at him through her groggy eyes. Despite his white hair the man didn't look that old, she guessed in his mid-thirties at the most. His jaw held handsome angles and his onyx eyes held something beyond that Sakura could not grasp. On the right side of his face he had a jagged scar starting from his eyebrow to just below his cheek bone. He had soft patches of stubble clinging on to his skin. Something about him just got to her. Maybe it was the look in his eyes or his aloof air, she did not know but she was drawn to him.

She couldn't love another.

She let her mind clear of any said profanities.

Kakashi then peered at her, "So I presume you don't have a place to stay."

"You caught me" She said sarcastically.

Kakashi smiled, "So what's your story. A young lady like you strolling into a town like this – this late into the night. Hmm? Care to explain that?"

"I'm not really up for a bout of story telling tonight. How about you tell me yours." Sakura countered.

"I've got nothing to tell you, I'm just a humble bartender." Kakashi feigned innocence.

"Yeah, but your eyes say something else. They've seen a lot – nothing a 'humble bartender' could afford."

Kakashi was taken aback slightly, "This isn't about me. It's about you now."

Sakura smirked, "So I hit the nail on the head."

She moved to collect her things and stood up and counted some bills to cover her tab, "thanks for everything."

Kakashi then stood up and almost chuckled at how much his figure towered over her, "If I think I'm just going to let you go around town looking for a place to stay, I assure you the next place you'll sleep is six feet underground. This town young lady will eat you alive. So I suggest if you plan on living to accept my offer."

Sakura simply looked at the man, "I don't like being taken advantage of."

"I'm sorry if I came off that way, but I assure you I'm doing anything but that." Kakashi coaxed.

Sakura sighed with resignation.

"Follow me" Kakashi

"How can I trust you?" Sakura mumbled as Kakashi walked towards the front door.

"Do you have a choice?" Kakashi asked her.

"If you kill me could you make sure they don't find my body in the dumpster."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kakashi chuckled

Sakura's eyes narrowed at him as she followed him out the bar. As he locked the door to the bar she spoke again, "By the way, what's your name anyway?"

"Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi then looked at Sakura.

"Sakura."

Kakashi quirked his eyebrow, "No last name?"

"Didn't your mother tell you not to give your full name to strangers?" Sakura quipped

"Well apparently not giving your last name could get yourself shot." He countered

Sakura chuckled to herself, but what Kakashi spoke was the truth not a joke.

.

.

.

Please leave your comments in the review section

This idea has been nagging me for a while so I wanted to write it down

LOVE YOU ALL

Until next time

OXZA


	2. Her Polaroids and He's Paranoid

Plucking Daisies

CHAPTER 2

**Her Polaroids**

**He's **_**Paranoid**_

.

.

.

"Why'd you quit?" Sakura spoke cautiously.

Kakashi's attention was elsewhere when the woman asked the question. Sakura simply sighed and looked away from the man, and continued matching her pace with his. She learned that asking the man questions was pointless.

They were walking into town because an old friend of Kakashi's had a job opening in their record store; he was simply showing Sakura the way.

It had been nearly a week since Sakura had ventured into the small town. Little by little she and Kakashi got to piece together each other's stories.

Sakura stayed vague. She only relied how she had a fall out with her boyfriend, and as a result left town to start anew.

Kakashi begged to differ.

Though on the contrary, Kakashi was just as vague. He told her about being a police officer up until a year ago. He left the force on his own accord, on what accord he did not delve into. He spoke of how he bought the bar off an old man who was leaving town. He also spoke of how he grew up in this very town.

Personally, Sakura exhaled a silent sigh of relief upon knowing he was once a police officer. It meant he wasn't some loon that was trying to screw her over. She reassured herself he was trustworthy for all his worth. He _had_ to be.

Kakashi had given her a spare room in his small home. He mentioned that he usually rented it out to visitors or a truck driver needing a place to stay the night. The hotel's rate in the town was way too steep for comfort; it would scare off any visitor or drifter. This was a shame as Sakura quite liked the quaint and tight knit community, something she wasn't quite used to. Her own town was a no man's land, everyone's lives hidden behind flimsy wooden apartment doors. She had lived there for over six years and she never once caught a glimpse of her neighbors. Kakashi's home sat in a row of identical brick two-storey homes; each had their own respective metal picket fences. The only feature that distinguished Kakashi's home from the others was the rusted copper number seven and a small cactus plant that sat on his tiny wooden porch. Upon closer inspection of the clay pot the plant sat in, she found it was named "Spike". How _original. _

For the first three days Sakura would stay in her room until Kakashi left the house. It was then she felt comfortable enough to roam the house and go about her routine. She felt obligated to clean the house to compensate for not being able to pay the rent. Kakashi was insistent that as long as she wasn't doing anything illegal in the house, he didn't really care how long she stayed. "Whenever we can, we always lend a helping hand in this town." Kakashi reasoned at Sakura's reluctance to oblige to the free board and hospitality. "That's what this town is all about. It doesn't matter where you've come from or what's your story, you're as good as family. You're going to have to get used to that."

Sakura blinked at his words slightly taken aback and then looked around his home, more like bachelor pad, "At least let me clean this place up for you. The mess in here _should_ be illegal. That much should be reasonable."

Kakashi didn't deny her of that "right", "Knock yourself out." He mumbled good-naturedly

"I won't have to, that pile of laundry near the sofa might just do the job." She spoke to herself, but Kakashi caught it and his face softened into a hearty laugh, "Are you always this funny?"

"Not when I want to be." She added which only made the man chuckle more.

It was decided the -well not decided _decided_, Sakura took it _upon herself_ to give Kakashi_ back_ his home when he'd return from whatever errands he'd be running during the day. At that time Sakura would leave and explore town, and try to find a job. _Try_. And return in defeat right about the time Kakashi would leave to go open the bar. She wondered if the man ever slept.

He in fact did _not _sleep a blink most night. She'd soon find out, that his schedule _wasn't_ the sole reason to this problem.

On the fourth day, Kakashi didn't leave the house. Which rendered her holed up in her room, she grew agitated. After organizing what little she had in her suitcase into the closet, she noticed a large cardboard box in the back of the closet. The contents of the box held a few belongings, of that a woman. Sakura got comfortable on the carpet and pulled the box closer, digging deeper until she unearthed a hefty envelope and a velvet box.

She opened the envelope and found a stack of photos and negatives. The photos weren't just any mediocre pile of happy snaps, these photos held a story, at the same time almost a time capsule of sorts. In the beginning there were photos of Kakashi. He looked young, alive, and happy. The hollowness in his eyes that marred the Kakashi she'd met was gone. In the majority of the photos he was smiling or pulling some kind of comic face. Sakura couldn't help but find herself smile and giggle at this man. As she progressed through the stack, the photos became more candid. The lens was catching Kakashi in the moment, no assumed expression made for that particular snap. Sakura moved through the photos slowly, analyzing this version of Kakashi.

The first photo contained him sitting in the living room bare-chested his face in deep concentration. He was concentrating what seemed to a spread of papers in front of him. This may have more than likely been during the time he was a police officer. She found other photos of him driving, fishing, and even sleeping. The pictures seemed to transition as a photo of a large hand entangled in a slender and feminine hand came into view. Sakura looked up from the photo and looked at the box expectantly and then returned to her little nosey snoop. She held her breath as a photo of a woman was revealed. She was gorgeous, but that sole word wouldn't do her justice. She was laughing; her eyes were closed as she laughed. Her skin was olive in hue and her hair a warm caramel silk curtain that was rippled with loose curls. She held a tumbler full of amber beer in one of her hands. The other was pinching one Kakashi's arms as he tickled her from behind. His face tucked against her neck cheekily.

The photos that proceeded after that one were dominated with the woman. The trend with Kakashi's photos mirrored. They intitially were smiling and posing photos – photos that were organized Sakura could almost hear the woman saying, "How do I look" before Kakashi or who ever was behind the camera, and the response would always be "beautiful", she would act shyly towards that comment Sakura's mind added as she noted the blush that clung onto her cheeks in most of the photos. Then came the candid photos. One photo of her cooking a meal at the stove, obviously failing miserably as she looked slightly agitated as black smoke fogged around the pot. Another of her reading the newspaper in the living room, she was only clad in an oversized shirt, it swallowed her slender form whole. Sakura couldn't help but think it was Kakashi's. An additional photo had her making an animated face whilst eating a bucket of ice cream. Another photo had her sleeping on Kakashi's lap, his fingers gently brushing away at the hair on her face.

Sakura started moving quicker through the photos, trying to push away the rush of emotions running through her head. She only stopped when she reached the final photo. Her heart stopped. The woman sat at the piano that's resemblance was uncanny to the one in Kakashi's bar. The woman was playing the piano with a smile of contentment. Kakashi's arms were slung around her, his lips planting a kiss on the crown of her head.

He obviously loved this woman. No doubt about it. This was also confirmed when she opened the small velvet box that held a silver wedding band.

Sakura felt her eyes tear up slightly, what happened? Why did she not accept his ring? Was she the cause as to why he quit being a police officer? Where was this mystery woman now?

She felt ebbs of remorse for Kakashi. To think what he'd been put through for this woman. Sakura could only wonder.

She quickly put away all the photos back in the envelope along with the velvet box. After returning the cardboard box to its previous resting place, she flung herself onto the bed and dug her head into the pillow. Was this her room? Her mind pondered dangerously.

A knock came to the door at that moment that rattled Sakura out of her thoughts immediately.

"Are you going to stay in there all day?" Kakashi's voice spoke through the door.

When he didn't receive a response, he sighed, "Suit yourself."

Guilt crept up on Sakura; she hadn't truly spoken to the man since the night at the bar. He had offered his own home as a makeshift home for the time being, she could show a little decency in their arrangement she admonished herself.

She looked herself over in the mirror and raked at her disheveled hair and wiped at the drool in the corners of her lips.

She opened the door and found Kakashi in the living room reading a book. Sakura held her breath as this scene drew a parallel to one of the many photos she flipped through. But she had to point out compared to the pictures _this_ Kakashi looked more worn, as if rubbed raw of any luster he once had in those photos. Kakashi didn't look up from the novel in his hand; rather he simply jutted his thumb out towards the kitchen. Sakura's eyes followed the direction to find a plate of eggs and an assortment of vegetables and toast.

"Thank you" She mumbled.

Kakashi's only reply was an indirect nod; he didn't take his eyes off his novel when he did so.

Sakura's bare feet awkwardly shuffled towards the kitchen to grab the plate along with a fork. When she turned around in search of some sort of seating for her and the plate, she found the living room to be the only place that provided this arrangement. There was only one sofa, a love seat and Kakashi looked too comfortable to be asked to "scoot over". So she compromised, she sat on the rug that sat below the coffee table. In order to do so she had to be seated in front of Kakashi. This only served to make her even more uncomfortable. She busied herself with the meal before her, which was too mediocre to give any compliments to. She realized it had been a solid three days without a smoke, when she felt the salted cucumbers itch at her throat menacingly. Even if she wanted to smoke, she couldn't afford buying a pack as it was. Maybe it was a sign for her to officially quit, her mind spoke thoughtfully. _Yeah right_. The woman could deny herself of many things, but to pass up a cigarette was something she would never consider. _Look at how pitiful I've become. _She sighed to herself once more and continued to eat, trying to distract the itch for nicotine.

It was somewhere between the last three bites on her plate that Kakashi finally broke the silence. She'd have to remind herself that Kakashi was not in fact accustomed to traditional speech "laws". She learned that he'd ask about anything that was on the tip of his tongue; stranger or no stranger he expected her to answer whole heartedly.

"Do you think that having white hair makes me seem older?" He said all of a sudden.

Sakura was taken aback slightly by this abrupt question. She collected herself quickly and smirked slightly, "I wouldn't put you past a day after 65."

Kakashi placed his book on the table and crossed his legs and smiled, "Good because this year I'm turning 80 you know." He winked comically.

Sakura snorted, "Sad thing is I believe you."

"You're not too far along madam, if I do say so myself." Kakashi countered defensively.

"Yes thirty is a pretty scary age, good thing I still have four years to prepare myself." Sakura smiled sarcastically

"So you're 26?"

"You're brain is still capable of doing simple arithmetic I see."

"38" Kakashi ignored her statement.

"I didn't ask"

"Well now you don't have to." Kakashi said coolly.

"Well don't I feel honored?" Sakura mumbled

"Are you usually this skittish when you don't have nicotine circulating your bloodstream?" Kakashi mused.

"That's one factor." Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, "Another reason is that I'm dirt poor and I've had to resort to living with a complete stranger-"

Kakashi cut her off, "I'm not a _complete_ stranger; you know my full name _and_ my age." He spoke as-a-matter-of-factly

Sakura rolled her eyes comically, "How could I forget that." Almost face-palming herself, _was this guy serious?!_

"Did you find a job yet?" Kakashi rubbed his hands together.

"Unfortunately the answer to that question would be a no." Sakura sighed

"Well I don't mind having you stay here and be my cleaning lady, but I'm sure you're more than capable of doing something else." Kakashi spoke thoughtfully

His response unnerved her, "If you weren't being as hospitable as you are now, I assure you I'd be on my way out." She bit out, the absence of nicotine in her life becoming very evident as her temper flared. She often kept a cool headed manner.

Kakashi simply looked at her for a moment, considering a thought but decided against it. He didn't want to yet find the threshold of her patience, there was time for that later. Sakura looked back down and moved to finish the remainder of her breakfast.

Kakashi stood up and dug his right hand into his trouser pocket, "think fast" he joked as he threw the item at her. Sakura barely looked up to catch the item with her free hand. The weight and the rattle of the contents in the box sending a rush of euphoria throughout her body, cigarettes.

"Lots of patrons leave their unfinished boxes behind." Kakashi explained as Sakura fumbled to stand up and grab the lighter from her room.

Kakashi smirked despite himself and shook his head, "what a woman." He went to the kitchen to pull out an ashtray for her. He moved back to the living room and placed it on the coffee table and waited for her return.

He smiled when she returned. She had changed her clothing and even pulled up her locks into a bun.

"Never knew a cigarette could change someone so much."

It was kind of depressing to watch he had to admit. Sakura was ignoring him as she plucked a cigarette from the small carton and placed it between her pale plump lips. She sat on the ground one again and moved the ashtray closer mumbling a quiet "thank you" through her occupied lips. She shielded the cigarette as she moved to light it, taking a long drag and then her head tilted back as she exhaled the toxic smoke with clear skill. She visibly relaxed and leaned back slightly as her free arm anchored her from behind. Kakashi couldn't help but hold his breath. Kakashi just watched with amusement as this woman was in her little world with the cancer stick.

She smiled slightly and looked at Kakashi as she crushed the butt of the disintegrating cigarette, "It's such a bad habit I know. If my father knew he'd kill me, but he's long gone now. It would be pretty sappy if I died with lung cancer like he did. Mum wouldn't complain though." She laughed, "She was always reciting 'like father like daughter' like it was a gospel."

Kakashi was slightly taken aback by this information; even more shocked he was _given_ that information.

"Cigarettes are like people to me you see. They feed you toxic lies and tales, you breathe them out but some of this toxic cloud still stays in you. It stains your insides and eventually your outsides- figuratively speaking. Eventually after continuous blind abuse…I guess that's what you can frankly call it – because the person doesn't even realize that that very person is doing them more harm than good." At that moment Sakura's fingers fumbled for another cigarette, Kakashi's eyes narrowed with disapproval, but Sakura ignored him. The words she spoke seemed to age her. She had seen and been through a lot he noted.

After a puff she continued looking at the man lazily, "and so eventually that very person is the thing that kills you. They mean to "comfort" you, but do nothing but pour more poison into you. Does that make sense?" Sakura quickly spoke, blushing to herself for rambling.

"It does." Kakashi gently smiled as he sat up from his hunched posture, "But correct me if I'm wrong, can't you pick and choose whether or not you want to have those people around?" He analyzed her words.

Sakura's eyes widened then she looked away with a scowl, "Once you start, you can't stop. It's a vicious cycle."

"In my perspective it more like you're continuously taking the wrong path at the fork of the road every time. You just have to learn to pick the correct side of the fork and then you're on the right road."

Sakura looked at him suddenly, and chuckled through a sigh, "Touché my friend. Touché. "

Kakashi couldn't find himself to return the same laugh. He only stood up and scratched behind his head. His mind swarming with Sakura's words. _Why do I get stuck with the problem ridden woman?_

His hands moved to grab his keys, "I'm going to head out and fix up the bar. A friend of mind has a job opening; I can take you there in two days."

Sakura moved to say thank you, but Kakashi had already left.

Kakashi grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "You're just like her." He chuckled humorlessly.

"Oh Kakashi you've bloody gone done it again."

.

.

.

I hope you like :-)

I liked it – I've been really particular about how I present and write lately. More about detailing small actions and the importance of the magnitude

I personally love where this is going I already think I know how I'm going to "end" this but that's a ways away from now hehe

I'm heading out so I'll edit typos later – I didn't want to drag this out any longer as is

Comments & thoughts in the review section

Much love

Oxza

xoxo


End file.
